


A Stacked Deck

by tangiblewhimsy



Series: Street Kids [28]
Category: Arashi (Band)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-08-22
Updated: 2012-08-22
Packaged: 2017-11-12 15:34:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,045
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/492804
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tangiblewhimsy/pseuds/tangiblewhimsy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sho vs. Nino: ROUND TWO.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Stacked Deck

After about a week of near daily visits to TYPENET Cafe, Sho was starting to get wise to Nino's tricks. He'd be sweet, disarmingly so, but only when it suited him. If ever a conversation started to turn in a direction that he didn't like then Nino would pull out the most outlandish, embarrassing, or offensive thing he could think of to throw Sho off topic. And Nino could think very well, and very quickly. In short, Nino was a master of misdirection.

"What is your full name?" Sho asked, once again with pen poised over clipboard. He was _going_ to try to help, even if all he could do was get the boy some monthly money to eat with.

"They call me Ishmael!" Nino declared, swirling around in Sho's squeaky desk chair. His hands were on the armrests and he looked remarkably and painfully bored. Sho had hidden anything he could possibly play with before luring him inside with promises of video games. It had all been lies.

"Is that in katakana or is there a specific character you use?" Sho asked, unfazed. He'd prepared himself for this with many failed attempts before.

"You're kind of like a paedophile, do you know that?" Nino evaded Sho's question deftly, giving Sho a pout. "Telling gullible young boys that you have things to play with before locking them in here to do with them what you will. It's all very seedy."

"I'll be sure to take that under advisement," Sho nodded professionally, scribbling in a few pieces of information he did know.

"Why are you trying so hard?" Nino finally stopped spinning, sitting forward and fixing Sho with a critical frown. "It's not like any of that is going to make a difference," he continued, jerking his chin at Sho's clipboard.

Sitting up, Sho frowned back as he tried to formulate a suitable response.

"How do you know that it won't change anything? I managed to help Ohno, why shouldn't I be able to help you?" Sho asked, wondering once again why Nino was so resistant. Aiba at least humored Sho, but Nino acted like everything he was doing was completely unreasonable.

"Because, Sho- _chan_ ," Nino sighed in a highly patronizing tone. Sho did his best not to bristle. "To receive government assistance for lodging you have to already have a permanent address. I can't stay in a hotel and use that, and I can't make enough money to save up for key money and a deposit on an apartment. Even if I could, no one likes renting to someone who's already been living on the streets. It looks bad for the neighborhood."

Sho stared, mouth slightly agape. Nino rubbed his face tiredly, suddenly looking ten years older as he reclined into the desk chair again, his expression one of resignation.

"Oh-chan told me about how you helped him. You took him in so that he could build up residency, you managed to get him a job here, you even paid for the deposit and key money on his apartment. Even if you could support Aiba-chan and I - or even just me - for long enough to claim residency, there's no way you could afford to do all of that again. Not unless you're secretly a millionaire who likes to slum it with the less fortunate."

Looking up, Nino met Sho's gaze evenly. Sho closed his mouth, rolling words around on his tongue as he debated what to say. He couldn't exactly argue with anything Nino had said, because he'd been right on the money for nearly every observation. Most of the people who were in Nino's or Aiba's situation stayed there because they didn't know their options. They didn't know that there was technically help and assistance out there, if you knew how to work the system. The problem was that the system sucked and didn't particularly care about people like Nino or Aiba or Ohno, so it really was up to others to help them make it through. Sho just hadn't anticipated that maybe, just maybe, Nino had tried to help himself at one point in time. The thought that his experiences had caused Nino to become so bitterly jaded angered Sho a great deal, but it also made him feel slightly ill.

Lowering his gaze, Sho's jaw worked tightly as he still tried to come up with something to say.

"You asked why I try so hard," he started slowly, dragging his thumbnail over a lip in the plastic of his pen without looking up. "I do it because there's no good reason not to, not really. And because it's—it's not fair. The deck shouldn't be stacked so high against people who need help the most, they don't deserve it." Disgust crossed Sho's features like a shadow before he managed to swallow it back down. Looking up, he spoke with a firmness that left no room for doubt, " _You_ don't deserve it."

Nino's features remained impassive. Sho wasn't sure if anything he'd said had gotten through, or maybe if he'd actually made Nino angry. Sho'd noticed that Nino hated any hint of pity that came from people, that he'd bare his teeth and claws and lash out just to show how well he could handle himself and his life. Sho didn't pity Nino, though, he really just thought he deserved so much more than feeling lucky if he found a warm, dry place to sleep and a broken vending machine he could steal from for food.

Standing, Nino rounded the desk and Sho thought for sure he was heading for the door. When Nino stopped beside him and snatched up the clipboard, Sho found himself staring once again as Nino scribbled out his information quickly. Skimming the page once he was finished, Nino silently handed the clipboard back and tossed Sho's pen on the desk before making straight for the door.

"Ninomiya Kazuya?" Sho read aloud, unsure why he found it interesting.

"Kazunari," Nino corrected from the door.

"Oh," Sho answered, turning back to the page and looking again. That wasn't a very common reading! "That's kind of cool. I like it."

"That makes one of us," Nino hummed cheerfully, giving Sho a peace sign as he exited the office without looking back.


End file.
